Authorities in New York City have identified the woman set on fire and killed in a horrific attack on a Brooklyn subway last week.
Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, was named as the victim of the seemingly random assault that took place on 22 December. Her body was burned beyond recognition.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, has been charged with starting the fire using a lighter while Ms Kawam was asleep. Authorities allege that he fanned the flames with a shirt and watched the blaze grow from a bench outside the subway car.
Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Zapeta on four counts of murder and one count of arson. Prosecutors say he claims to have no memory of the incident.
Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, stated the cause of death was ruled as “thermal and inhalational injuries.” She added, “The identity was confirmed by the medical examiner yesterday through fingerprint analysis, following a multi-agency effort with our partners in law enforcement.”
It took over a week for authorities to identify Ms Kawam’s remains.
Speaking at a press conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed that Ms Kawam had recently stayed at a city homeless shelter. He remarked, “It really reinforces what I’ve been saying, people should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez emphasised the investigative priority of identifying Ms Kawam and notifying her family. “It’s a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman,” he said.
In the days following the attack, unverified online claims and a fabricated AI-generated image of the victim spread on social media. Despite this, support poured in for Ms Kawam, including a vigil held in her memory while she remained unidentified.
According to police, Ms Kawam was motionless and appeared to be asleep on a stationary subway train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station early on 22 December. Mr Zapeta allegedly approached her with a lighter. Authorities believe the two were strangers and had no interaction before the attack.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch recounted how the smell of smoke drew officers and Metropolitan Transit Authority staff to the scene. They managed to extinguish the fire, but Ms Kawam was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” Ms Tisch said. She described the crime as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”
Prosecutor Ari Rottenberg told the court on Tuesday that Mr Zapeta admitted to drinking heavily and claimed he could not recall the incident. However, he reportedly identified himself in surveillance footage showing the fire being lit.
Immigration authorities confirmed that Mr Zapeta, originally from Guatemala, had been deported from the United States in 2018 and re-entered the country illegally.
Mr Zapeta is scheduled to appear in court again on 7 January.
The tragedy has reignited concerns over safety on New York City’s subway system. While crime rates have decreased, recent violent incidents, including an attack on Tuesday where a man was pushed onto the tracks in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood, continue to alarm commuters.
The victim in that incident, who remains unidentified, was hospitalised with a head injury. Police have since detained a suspect, local media reported.
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TOYOTA CAMRY ₦2.2 650,000
TOYOTA CAMRY ₦2.4 850,000
TOYOTA COROLLA ₦900,000
TOYOTA MATRIX ₦800,000
TOYOTA SIENNA ₦950,000
TOYOTA RAV4 ₦1.2 MILLION
TOYOTA VENZA ₦3.5 MILLION
TOYOTA CAMRY SPIDER ₦1.8 MILLION
TOYOTA HIACE BUS ₦2.5 MILLION
TOYOTA PRADO ₦4 MILLION
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ₦1.8 MILLION
•Toyota Land Cruiser-N1.3m
•Toyota Prado N1.2m
•Toyota Corolla
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•Toyota Camry –N650,000
•Toyota Avensis –N800k
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TOYOTA AVALON #950,000
•Toyota Yaris – N900,000
•Toyota picnic _ N450,000
•Toyota Venza– N1.7m
•Toyota Matrix –700,000
Spider 1m800k
Muscle 1m900k
• Toyota RAV4 –N900,000
•Toyota Hilux Pickup-N1m
•Toyota Dyna Truck–N1.3million
•Toyota 4 Runner–N1m
tundra 2.670,000
tacoma 2.5Million
•Toyota Hiace Bus –N1.5m
•Toyota Highlander-N1.2m
•Toyota Big daddy-800k
Toyota Camry Big Daddy=N550,000.
Toyota Camry Tiny-Light=N400,000.
Toyota Avenza =N950,000. To 1.3 million
Toyota Hilux=N 1.2 million
Toyota Avensis=N450,000.
Toyota Camry Muscle=N 600,000. & Spider=N650,000.
Toyota Avalon=N600,000.
Toyota Rav4 SUV=N850,000.
Toyota Sienna=N600,000.
Toyota 4Runner=N800,000.
Toyota Tundra=N 1.8 Million
Toyota picnic=N450,000.
Toyota Highlander=N1m550,000. to 2m
Toyota Corolla=N500,000.
Toyota Prado=N950,000. To 3.4 million
Toyota LandCruisser=N950,000. to 3m
Toyota Yaris=N750.000.
Toyota Matrix=N550,000.
Toyota Haice Bus=N 950,000 to N 1.3 Million
Toyota Camry 2.4M Tiny-Light ₦850.000
Toyota Camry Big-Daddy ₦950.000
Toyota Camry Muscle ₦1.2M
Toyota Camry Spider ₦1.3M
Toyota Avalon ₦2.2M
Toyota Avensis ₦1.2M
Toyota Corolla ₦950.000
Toyota Yaris ₦1.2M
Toyota Matrix ₦900.000
Toyota Picnic ₦1.1M
Toyota Sienna ₦2.1M
Toyota Venza ₦3.2M
Toyota Rav4 ₦1.1M
Toyota 4Runner ₦1.8M
Toyota Hiace-Bus ₦2.9M
Toyota Highlander ₦2.3M
Toyota Land Cruiser ₦4.6M
Toyota Tundra ₦4.8M
Toyota Prado ₦5.3M
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HONDA ACCORD ₦700,000
HONDA PILOT ₦1.2 MILLION
HONDA EOD ₦850,000
HONDA ODYSSEY ₦1MILLION
Honda Baby Boy= ₦780,000
Honda Accord EOD= ₦950,000
Honda City= ₦750,000
Honda Crosstour= ₦1.2M
Honda CR-V= ₦950k
Honda Odyssey= ₦850,000
Honda Pilot= ₦1Million
Honda Pilot=N950,000.
Honda Baby Boy=N500,000.
Honda End of Discussion(EOD)=N550,000.
Honda Accord=N500,000.
Honda CRV=N800,000.
Honda Accord ₦950,000
Honda City ₦850,000
Honda Civic ₦950.000
Honda C-RV ₦1.5M
Honda Crosstour ₦1.2M
Honda Element ₦950.000
Honda Evilspirit ₦1.1M
Honda Odyssey ₦1.2M
Honda Pilot ₦2.3M
*Prices of some Volswagen cars:
Golf 2-250,000
Golf 3-N300,000
Golf4-350,000
Golf 5 -N550,000
Jetta-N350,000
Passat-N450,000
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LEXUS Es300 ₦1.3 MILLION
LEXUS Es330 ₦1.6 MILLION
LEXUS Es350 ₦2 MILLION
LEXUS Rx300 ₦1.7 MILLION
LEXUS Rx330 ₦3 MILLION
LEXUS Rx350 ₦4 MILLION
LEXUS RX400 ₦3.5 MILLION
LEXUS GX460 ₦4 MILLION
LEXUS GX470 ₦5 MILLION
LEXUS ES300@#1.3 MILLION
LEXUS ES330@#1.6 MILLION
LEXUS ES350@#2 MILLION
LEXUS RX300@#1.7 MILLION
LEXUS RX330@#3 MILLION
LEXUS RX350@#4 MILLION
LEXUS RX400@#3.5 MILLION
LEXUS GX460@#4 MILLION
LEXUS GX470@#5 MILLION
Lexus GX460=₦6.6M
Lexus GX470=₦8.4M
Lexus GX570=₦13.8M
Lexus IS-250=₦2.1M
Lexus ES-330=₦1.5M
Lexus ES-350=₦2.6M
Lexus RX300= ₦1.5M
Lexus RX330= ₦2.8M
Lexus RX350= ₦3.2M.
Lexus Rx300=N800,000. To N2.1 Million
Lexus Rx330=N850,000 To N2.2 Million
Lexus Rx350=N900,000 To N3.3 Million
Lexus Rx470=N3.m
Lexus Rx330 ₦2.1M
Lexus Rx350 ₦4.1M
Lexus Rx400 ₦5.4M
Lexus Gx470₦7M
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MERCEDES C240 ₦1.3 MILLION
MERCEDES C300 ₦1.7 MILLION
MERCEDES ML350 ₦2.8 MILLION
MERCEDES GLK350 ₦3.8 MILLION
MERCEDES GL470 ₦4 Million.etc.
BENZ C-CLASS ₦3,000,000
MERCEDES-BENZ GLA 250 4.6M
MERCEDES-BENZ E-Class ₦3,500,000
MERCEDES-BENZ G-Class ₦4,000,000
MERCEDES-BENZ GLK ₦4,500,000
MERCEDES BENZ ML₦5,000,000
Mercedes-Benz C-Class ₦1.5 million
Mercedes-Benz E-Class ₦1.7 million
Mercedes-Benz G-Class ₦2.5 million
Mercedes-Benz GLK ₦3.5 Million
Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 4.8MILLION
Mercedes Benz ML350 ₦2.3 million
Mercedes Benz g-wagon ₦125 million.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class ₦3.5M
Mercedes-Benz E-Class ₦3.9M
Mercedes-Benz G-Class ₦3.8M
Mercedes-Benz GLK ₦4.6M
Mercedes Benz ML₦5.6M
Nissan pathfinder= ₦1.9M
Nissan Altima= ₦1.820,000
Nissan Armanda= ₦1.2M
Nissan Murano 950,000
Nissan Murano=N850,000. to N 1.2 Million
Nissan Pathinder=N800,000. To N 1 million
Nissan Altima=N800,000.
Nissan Maxima=N600,000.
Nissan Altima ₦1.2M
Nissan Armada ₦2.3M
Nissan Maxima N1M
Nissan Murano ₦1.4M
Nissan Primera ₦900,000
Nissan Pathfinder ₦1.5M
Nissan Maxima= ₦1.600,000.e.t.c.
Range rover vogue 8mill
Range rover sport HSE 4.8m
Land rover 3.3m
Land Rover Discovery ₦4.8M
Land Rover Freelander ₦5.5M
Land Rover Vogue ₦5.2M
Range Rover Sport. ₦5.5M
Acura ZDX 1.550,000
Acura MDX 1.6m
Acura TL ₦1.2M
Acura MDX ₦2.2M
Acura ZDX ₦1.9M
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